Pregnant - worried about how much I'm eating

[FirstTimeMum897]

First time pregnancy. First trimester - all I could eat was pure white carbs, I was nauseous and dizzy all the time and put on 5 lbs. I'm in my early second trimester, I feel amazing, I'm even exercising but I'm just eating so much. I was a size 10 before, a healthy weight but it was a life time struggle to keep it that way. It's like now I'm pregnant and cannot diet, I don't know what to do with myself and I can’t stop. Any advice or tips?

I have very very low blood pressure (always have, pregnancy has made it worse) and since I can't have caffeine, I keep reaching for sugary snacks mid afternoon to keep me awake in the office.

Luckily, i don't eat takeaways or drink soda, mostly home cooked food, lots of vegetables, pretty healthy food overall (other than the sweets), but A LOT!

My OB-GYN said I shouldn't gain more than 25lbs in total (that includes baby etc), I feel like I am gonna go waaay over that and she's really scared me.

The reality is, most women I know including me have put on more than that.

It’s very common to be starving in first trimester. And also to eat as a way to stop feeling sick. I was the same.

In third trimester the recommendation is to eat more but many womem including me are also unable to exercise towards later pregnancy due to physical issues. This also happened to me both times.

You should absolutely not be dieting during pregnancy.

Many women struggle to get the weight off again afterwards, but some women do. I’m struggling to lose weight 13 weeks after my second child as I had a c section, i have kids who don’t let me sleep, i’m exhausted, and the weather has been mostly shit everyday to go for a walk.

I would just focus on getting through pregnancy, do some exercise in second trimester. And if you need to, ban sugary snacks from the house.

Can't help sorry but I was exactly the same in pregnancy. I put on 15-20kg in each of my three pregnancies and sadly I didn't lose it breastfeeding so I ended up going up a clothing size with each pregnancy.

I think if you're eating mostly healthy foods I wouldn't worry too much, most women I know gained more than that!

Plus some stages of pregnancy are different to others, you may find in the third trimester your hunger dies down x

I was the same. The hunger was overwhelming. In hindsight I wish I'd made sure that everything I was eating was nutritious but it's hard when you need carbs. Maybe switch to more protein? As veg isn't that filling.

I did lose the weight afterwards without trying though (although the weight gain made me more saggy). The only time I didn't gain massively was when we were on holiday and I was swimming and walking every day

You are growing a human inside of you and that requires a LOT of energy. Your shape will change during your pregnancy and in the post partum period. You don't know how much you are going to put on, but as long as you are eating a healthy diet to nourish you and the baby, it doesn't matter. Restricting your diet through pregnancy is really not a good idea.

Thanks everyone for responding. It's not really hunger now though,I just have no self control. The first trimester was so awful, I had to just constantly graze and now I've gone back to normality it's like I don't know how to just eat normally. I now HATE feeling hungry even for a bit because I'm scared I'm going to be nauseous. This plus the lack of energy/not enough caffeine means I'm just turning to more food. I somehow need to find a balance but thinking about it is making me weirdly emotional!

Honestly my own personal advice is don’t worry about it, give yourself a break, you’re growing a human! I’m 8 months pregnant and haven’t even thought about weighing myself so I have no idea how much I’ve gained and I’m not worried about it. Pregnancy is hard enough without putting any extra pressure on yourself. If you’re eating a mostly healthy diet honestly don’t worry about it. I eat healthy mostly home cooked meals, lots of fruit & veg, I also sometimes have 3 packets of crisps and then order a dominos for tea. As long as you’re not eating takeaways 3 meals a day every day and not moving at all, you’ll be fine. X

You can still have caffeine, so why not just have a tea or a coffee in the afternoon? Just be sensible. Eg j always had a one shot coffee so it was weaker.
Your metabolic rate is much higher when pregnant, it’s like you’re running a marathon every day so give yourself a break and eat what you need. It sounds like you have a healthy balanced diet. For what it’s worth, I weigh less now than I did before I fell pregnant, without trying to lose weight at all so it does happen.

I started pg slim, 9st4lb, 5'7". I put on a stone in the first 12 weeks and 2.5stone overall so 35lb. My midwife told me very slim people often gained disproportionately. Six weeks after giving birth I was 9st2lb although to be fair infective mastitis contributed to that!

I put on 3 stone with dd but pg for 5 weeks more. I only ever got down to 9lb 12 afterwards.

Can you not just eat balanced meals and snack on fruit? Keep your diet within bounds and you will be fine.

I think when we're pregnant we need to eat instinctively, as long as we're being sensible and don't have issues like GD.

Some days, baby has a growth spurt and we'll need to eat more. I can't imagine its good for you or baby to restrict calories at this time.

Once baby comes, there'll be plenty of time to lose weight if needed, but I'd just enjoy the pregnancy personally.